Elizabeth Colbert Busch didn't pull any punches during her only debate with Mark Sanford in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat in South Carolina. Colbert Busch shocked audiences by attacking Sanford for the affair that brought down his term as governor. The subject had been like an elephant in the room for much of the campaign, everybody knew about it but no one talked about it.
That changed Monday when Colbert Busch showed that she is just as good with a zinger as her brother Stephen, host of the "Colbert Report".
"When we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn't mean that you take the money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose," Colbert Busch said.
Colbert Busch is referring to the affair Sanford had with an Argentine woman while serving as governor of South Carolina. When all of the details came out Sanford's political career was derailed and he was forced to pay an ethics fine of $70,000.
Sanford did not directly respond to Colbert Busch's attack, according to the Washington Post the former governor did not hear the remark.
Later in the debate a questioner asked Sanford, who voted to impeach President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair, if he would vote differently because of his experiences since then.
"I would reverse the question," Sanford said. "Do you think President Clinton should be condemned for the rest of his life for a mistake he made in his life?"
Colbert Busch waited until eight days left before the election to finally address the former governor's sultry past but it had been on the mind of voters for quite some time.
"While I agree with a lot of Sanford's rhetoric in certain areas, that kind of broaches the integrity issue for me," Lee Anderson told USA Today after the debate. "It feels like Mark Sanford is dying a death of a thousand cuts."
Most of the audience appeared to have their support behind Colbert Busch, indicative of her status as the frontrunner in the race. After the debate Colbert Busch was buoyed by her performance.
"I rocked it," Colbert Busch said. On May 7 she'll find out if the voters of South Carolina agree.
